


Unchained Melody

by 50sNettle



Category: Wizards vs Aliens
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Fluff, Showers, Singing, Tumblr made me do it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-19 04:49:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5954209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/50sNettle/pseuds/50sNettle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From the prompt: “So we’ve never met but our showers are on opposite sides of the same apartment wall so sometimes we’re showering at the same time and we sing duets."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unchained Melody

**Author's Note:**

> Ignore me; these two idiots are cute, what can I say?
> 
> DISCLAIMER. I own nothing.

"Look on the bright side."

" _Look on the_ \- What bright side?" Lexi stares at Jathro incredulously, trying to ignore the very obvious looks that they’re getting from the other passengers on this particular southbound Metropolitan line train.

“You did a great thing for charity.”

“Yeah. Letting my dad blackmail me into getting hit with paint balloons whilst Varg watches on in glee. _Great_.” She wipes a smear of paint from her cheek with the back of her hand, in order to prove her point. “I sincerely hope that the orphans of the world are very happy.”

“Wow. There’s no need for _that_.”

“Easy for you to say. _You’re_ not the one having to suffer London’s public transport covered in paint, are you?”

“No, but I _am_ the one who’s having to suffer it listening to you _whining_.” Her best friend rolls his eyes. “Don’t pout at me like that. I’m just saying.”

Lexi sticks her tongue out at him childishly. “Next time, I’m volunteering on your behalf for charity duties, and I’m going to be there, _laughing_.”

“Please. You can volunteer on my behalf all you want. You know that your dad will make you do it anyway, just to make sure that you living on your own hasn’t demonized you. Turned you into someone like _me_ , of all horrors.” Jathro chuckles at his own joke. Lexi huffs under her breath and folds her arms, eyebrows knitting together into a frown, one that doesn’t leave her face until she’s back in her poky flat on the thirteenth floor of her building.

She goes and stands under the shower, not even bothering to wriggle out of her dirty clothes, tipping her head back and letting the warm water cascade over her closed eyelids, enjoying the calming sensation until a drop runs into her nose and she has to lean forward in order to regain her breath. She uses a hand to sweep her fringe away from her face, reaching for the shower gel by the sink, and starting to try and scrub the paint stains from her fingers. She hums to herself as she does so, the melody of some Disney song from the animated film Jathro forced her to watch the night before (“Because it’s _cathartic_ ,” he insisted, when she tried to question his actions), starting to form the words after a time.

 _‘All those days, watching from the window,_  
_All those years, outside looking in,_  
_All that time, never even knowing,_  
_Just how blind I’ve been._  
_Now I’m here, blinking in the starlight,_  
_Now I’m here, suddenly I see,_  
_Standing here, it’s all so clear,_  
_I’m where I’m meant to be,_  
_And at last I see the light,_  
_And it’s like the fog has lifted,_  
_And at last I see the light,_  
_And it’s like the sky is new,_  
_And it’s warm and real and bright,_  
_And the world has somehow shifted,_  
_All at once, everything looks different,_  
_Now that I see you...’_

She presses her lips together as she rinses the shampoo out of her hair, watching the streaks of red and purple disappear down the drain. She’s about to break out into the second verse, when someone else beats her to it, singing through the wall on her right hand side.

 _‘All those days, chasing down a daydream,_  
_All those years, living in a blur,_  
_All that time, never truly seeing,_  
_Thing, the way they were,_  
_Now she’s here, shining in the starlight,_  
_Now she’s here, suddenly I know,_  
_If she’s here, it’s crystal clear,_  
_I’m where I’m meant to go...’_

There’s a brief, meaningful pause as the verse draws to a close; Lexi realises that this is her cue to continue with the final chorus , and, sure enough, the other voice chimes in with her.

 _‘And at last I see the light,_  
_And it’s like the fog has lifted,_  
_And at last I see the light,_  
_And it’s like the sky is new,_  
_And it’s warm and real and bright,_  
_And the world has somehow shifted,_  
_All at once, everything looks different,_  
_Now that I see you,_  
_Now that I see you...’_

Lexi descends into silence again, once the song has finished; she briefly wonders if she should call out some sort of thanks to her impromptu duet partner for putting up with her singing voice, but, by the time she’s worked up the nerve to say anything, the water from the flat next door is suddenly cut off, effectively rendering that idea useless.

It’s a common thing for Lexi, to find herself singing in the shower, but this is the first time anyone has actually sung back to her, and the event preys on her mind all evening, and all throughout the following morning.

“You’re so lucky,” Jathro says, when she tells him all about it on their lunch break.

“In what way?”

“I wish I had a neighbour that sporadically burst out into song with me. Lyzera just files a complaint against me if I even so much as _cough_ too loudly for her liking.”

Lexi nods in understanding. Just another occasion where she thanks her rare lucky stars that she doesn’t live in Lyzera’s building.

The work day passes even more slowly than usual, she finds, and Lexi considers faking a migraine to get off half an hour earlier than usual. As soon as the clock in the office hits four in the afternoon, she sprints out of the building, towards the nearest Underground station, not bothering to wait for Jathro and Katie, another girl in their department, to get their coats and finish complaining about their mutual neighbour. She retreats into the shower again almost as soon as she steps through her front door, despite not really being able to afford it; her water bill is high enough as it is. Still, the warm water soothes her muscles, and, in her mind, that makes it worth it. It doesn’t take long before the water pipes from next door to start working too, and soon she can hear her neighbour singing again, as loud as humanly possible, it seems.

_‘I was looking for a breath of life,_

_A little touch of heavenly light,_  
_But all the choirs in my head sang no,_  
_To get a dream of life again,_  
_A little of vision of the start and the end,_  
_But all the choirs in my head sang no...’_

Lexi only listens for a little while, using the wall to support her weight, but it doesn’t take long for her to give in to the temptation to sing along.

 _‘And I started to hear it again,_  
_But this time it wasn't the end,_  
_And the room was so quiet, oh,_  
_And my heart is a hollow plain,_  
_For the devil to dance again,_  
_And the room was too quiet, oh,_  
_I was looking for a breath of life,_  
_A little touch of heavenly light,_  
_But all the choirs in my head sang no...’_

As the song comes to a close, Lexi hears the guy on the other side of the wall chuckling to himself; it brings a smile to her own face, despite the fact that the water she’s standing under is now running cold.

Life carries on in this similar pattern for the next few weeks. Lexi lets out an audible groan when she goes downstairs to the community letterboxes on the ground floor and finds her water bill for that month patiently waiting for her; it’s an even louder groan when she sees the dent it has made in her savings, but Jathro (who’s been camping out in her room for the past two days, in order to avoid Lyzera) only yanks the paper out of her hand, crumples it in his hand, and throws it over his shoulder.

“Hey!”

“You worry about this stuff too much, Lexi. You know that your dad will just pay up if you get into debt.”

“I don’t want him to _just pay up_. I want to do it myself. You know, accept my adult responsibilities.”

“Adult? You’re barely _twenty_.” Jathro rolls his eyes.

“That’s adult enough for me.” Lexi shuts her letterbox as she speaks, rummaging around in her pocket for her door key, almost colliding with someone walking in the opposite direction. “Oh - God, sorry - Wasn’t concentrating -”

“Don’t worry about it.” The guy gives her a warm smile, one that reaches his dark brown eyes. Lexi opens her mouth to apologise again, but, before she can, her brain catches up with her, registering the familiar voice.

“Oh God. You’re my shower bloke.” She cringes as soon as the words leave her mouth (Jathro’s trying and failing to hide his laughter behind the back of his hand). “Uh - I mean - _The_ \- You’re _the_ shower bloke -”

Shower Bloke doesn’t look fazed by her lack of articulation, or her best friend howling gleefully behind them, but simply moves to his letterbox to collect his post. “Most people just call me Tom, actually. But, yeah, _Shower Bloke_ will do. Hi. You’re Rapunzel, I’m guessing.”

“Lexi.” Her embarrassment is suddenly replaced by confusion. “ _Rapunzel_?”

He grins at her. “What, you didn’t think you were the only one who came up with a nickname, did you?”

“But, _Rapunzel_ , though?”

“Why not? It seemed appropriate.”

“In what way?”

“Well -” Tom pauses, as if to deliberate for a moment, before winking in her direction. “- you’re both cute, for one thing.”

Nope. She definitely isn’t blushing after that. Not at all.

“ _Ooh!_ ” Jathro choruses, as soon as Tom is out of earshot, having retrieved his post and headed back the way he had come, throwing a casual invitation of _We should hang out sometime_ over his shoulder. “ _You’re both cute!_ ”

Lexi only digs him in the ribs and rolls her eyes, muttering “Shut up,” as she does so, but there’s a smile on her face, one that seems to stay there for the entire rest of the day.

And when she steps into the bathroom, later that evening, and catches Tom in the middle of singing, “ _And I can’t fight this feeling anymore_ ”, the smile only grows wider.

**Author's Note:**

> Songs used:
> 
> "I See The Light" - from 'Tangled'
> 
> "Breath of Life" - Florence and the Machine
> 
> "Can't Fight This Feeling" - REO Speedwagon


End file.
